YOKOHAMA, Japan (Nov. 28, 2018) – Nissan has created a
vision to make electric vehicles even more useful to customers by introducing
new convenient ways to utilize their batteries’ ability to store and share
energy. Under the plan, called Nissan Energy, owners of Nissan’s electric
vehicles will be able to easily connect their cars with energy systems to
charge their batteries, power homes and businesses or feed energy back to power
grids. The company will also develop new ways to reuse electric car batteries.
Nissan has already begun programs in the U.S., Japan and Europe aimed at
creating an “ecosystem” around its range of electric vehicles, including the
Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling electric car. Nissan Energy brings these
initiatives together as part of the company’s Nissan Intelligent Mobility
strategy. “Nissan Energy will enable our customers to use their electric cars
for much more than just driving – now they can be used in nearly every aspect
of the customer’s lives,” said executive vice president Daniele Schillaci,
Nissan's global head of marketing, sales and electric vehicles. “Our Nissan
Intelligent Mobility vision calls for changing how cars are integrated with
society, and Nissan Energy turns that vision into reality.” Nissan Energy will establish
new standards for connecting vehicles to energy systems through three key
initiatives: Nissan Energy Supply, Nissan Energy Share and Nissan Energy
Storage. High-profile Nissan Energy initiatives extend to a variety of
locations, including Nissan’s North American headquarters: • Franklin,
Tennessee: Nissan North America will be piloting the use of LEAF vehicles to
assist in powering its headquarters facilities during peak electrical demand
times,anticipating significant cost
savings • Hagen, Germany: LEAF vehicles will be used as a reserve for the
German electricity grid, in an innovative pilot project involving Nissan,
technology company The Mobility House, energy supplier ENERVIE and transmission
system operator Amprion • Japan: Nissan is working with partners such as
electric and telecom companies, conducting field tests of vehicle-to-grid and
virtual power plant systems to confirm and promote opportunities for electric
vehicles to assist with managing energy .
Nissan Energy Supply: Providing the connected charging
solutions customers need at home, on the road and at their destination
Customers want to charge their electric vehicles when it’s most convenient, and
the majority of charging takes place at home. Nissan’s efforts to assist
customers includes verifying whether charging equipment, such as electrical
sockets or wall boxes, can be connected to Nissan electric vehicles safely
(market-dependent).
Away from home, customers can make use of the fast-growing
CHAdeMO charging network – one of the world’s largest, with more than 22,000
quick-charging points globally.Finding
charging locations and hooking into the network – allowing Nissan Energy Supply
to come alive – is made possible through the revised LEAF navigation system and
easily available NissanConnect app.
Nissan Energy Share: Working with partners to harness energy
integration potentialThe batteries in
an electric car can do more than just power the vehicle; they can also serve as
mobile energy storage devices. Nissan vehicles already on the road contain more
than 10 GWh of combined storage potential. Nissan Energy Share capabilities
connect the vehicles with society’s infrastructure to allow them to share their
high-capacity battery power with a connected home or building. They also allow
the cars to link to the local energy grid to act as virtual power plants –
supplying the vehicle’s power to the grid and contributing to efficient energy
management. Thanks to these capabilities, customers will be able to share spare
battery capacity without compromising their mobility. Nissan has already
carried out Energy Share pilot programs in Japan, the U.S., Europe and other
markets, collaborating with several companies and organizations. Once the pilot
tests are completed, Nissan will be ready to rapidly commercialize the systems.
• Vehicle-to-home (V2H): Nissan is working with partners to bring inexpensive
equipment to the market to popularize V2H. Using V2H, owners of Nissan electric
vehicles can use their cars as a power source for the household to save money
on electricity bills, or as backup power during blackouts or emergencies. This
allows the usage of renewable energy when available, or when electricity is
cheaper. • Vehicle-to-building (V2B): Similar to V2H, V2B makes use of electric
vehicle batteries to store energy for buildings and businesses. However, a V2B
system can involve hundreds of vehicles to realize major cost savings for a
company. Full-scale trials of V2B systems have already started in many
countries, and Nissan has been working with partners with the aim of bringing
the systems to market in 2019.•
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G): Nissan has formed partnerships with utility companies
and governments to harness V2G capabilities. In trials in Europe, Nissan cars
are providing multiple services to the electricity grid – helping balance
energy networks and incorporate renewable energy. Working with partners, Nissan
is piloting ways to let customers earn additional income by sharing energy from
their vehicles when they are not being otherwise used, without affecting the
customer’s mobility needs or the health of the vehicles.
Nissan Energy Storage: Providing a “second life” to an
electric vehicle’s battery The life of a Nissan electric vehicle’s battery
isn’t over after it has finished powering the car. The battery can be recycled
and refurbished for a number of different uses – from powering electric
forklifts and generators to supplying energy to a sports arena. As more and
more customers switch to electric cars, the availability of used lithium-ion
batteries is expected to increase significantly as owners replace their
vehicles. These are some of the Nissan Energy Storage programs to date:
• Japan: In 2010, Nissan joined forces with Sumitomo Corp.
to establish 4R Energy Corp., which repurposes lithium-ion batteries from
electric cars for new uses. The first 4R Energy plant opened its doors in March
2018. By using the battery refabricating capabilities of 4R Energy Corp.,
Nissan is able to reuse batteries for EV applications, store energy or power
heavy equipment, among other uses. • Europe: Nissan has been reusing electric
vehicle batteries as part of an advanced home power solution. In the U.K, the
company has combined that energy storage with advanced solar panels. In June,
Nissan inaugurated Europe's biggest energy storage system at Holland's Johan
Cruyff Arena. Powered by 148 Nissan LEAF batteries, the system operates
independently from the main power grid. • South America: Nissan Brazil and the
Federal University of Santa Catarina have signed a memorandum of intent to test
solutions and future applications for used EV batteries. “Nissan now offers
customers a true EV ecosystem with Nissan Energy,” said Schillaci. “This is
what we feel is the ‘new standard for electrification’ – it’s not just about
owning a vehicle but taking advantage of all the associated benefits, for the
customer and society overall.”
